Saturday, May 7, 2011

It Must Be Summer

The combination of our first really warm weather here in the front range and the fact that I'm leaving on Monday to head up to Alaska for "the summer" has me feeling for the first time yet this year like Spring is winding up and Summer is just around the corner.

Historically Summer has never been my favorite month. The heat doesn't bother me too much, but certainly I prefer 50 degrees to 90 degrees. In the cold you can always put on more clothes and stay warm, but if it gets too hot out there just isn't much you can do to avoid the heat if you want to be outside.

Since moving to Alaska 6 years ago though my perspective on Summer has changed a lot. In Juneau it rarely gets over 75 degrees. Beginning sometime in April and continuing until sometime in September the high temperature is between 50 and 75 almost every single day. Perfect temperature as far as I'm concerned. Sure it rains a lot, and sure the winter's can be pretty dark and miserable, but there are few places I have ever been where the temperature is as ideal for 6 straight months as it is in Juneau from April to September.

It's a little over 80 in Boulder today and I can't help but feel like I'm getting out of here just in time before the real heat sets in. Sure, it's only supposed to be about 50 and raining when I touch down in Juneau on Monday, but for running 20+ hours of rugged mountain terrain each week I'd take 50 over 80 in a heartbeat. The rain might take a little while to get reacquainted with (it's rained maybe 3 times in the 8+ months that we've been in Colorado), but even the rain this time of year in Juneau has a way of feeling gentle and comforting.

I think the secret is to stay out of Boulder. It was 87 down there this afternoon and 73 up here. I'm like you and prefer cooler weather. It was 48 when I ran this morning perfect. And that's in Ned. If you get up into the high country, even better. Of course, you know all this :-)

Screw summer! It was 103 in Hollywood the other day. I was at a work meeting and had to wear a suit. I was sweating like crazy. California sux.

Enjoy your time back up in AK. I cant wait to get back up there next month and run the soft cool trails back home for a bit. I also cant wait to run something steep again. The first day I get up there I have a date with Mat Peak.